Mississippi State Bulldogs

‘Dogs’ style similar to Hogs’

                Riding a 5 game winning streak the Arkansas Razorbacks (16-8, 3-3) travel to Starkville, MS this weekend to take on the No. 16 ranked Bulldogs of Mississippi State (18-9, 4-2).  MSU started the season ranked among the top 5 in the nation after finishing a finalist in last year’s college world series.  They return much of that team including a very strong pitching staff that looks to repeat their success a season ago.  The Bulldogs began this season a little rough as they lost 4 of their first 8 games before winning 7 in a row.  They then dropped three straight but have since only lost two games in their past 9, including a series win over number 7 ranked Vanderbilt last weekend.  One of the hardest places to play in the nation is Dudy Noble Field when it is full, and they have been averaging the largest crowds so far this season. 

                Mississippi State is hitting .268 as a team with 5 home runs and a .382 on base percentage.  They have 31 doubles, 6 triples and 5 home runs in 227 hits for just a .336 slugging percentage.  With low strikeout numbers and high walk rates, Arkansas pitchers will need to have good stuff to keep this club from squaring up on many balls. 

                The ‘Dogs are led offensively by senior C.T. Bradford who is hitting .323 with 2 doubles, 4 triples and 12 RBI.  He leads the team in slugging percentage (.477) without the benefit of a home run and gets on base at a .352 average.  Senior Brett Pirtle (.311, 0 HR, 13 RBI) leads the team in hits with 32, only 4 of them for extra bases.  Wes Rea is the main production source for the Bulldogs with a .277 average he has 4 doubles and 3 home runs while driving in a team leading 23 runs.  The junior has been well respected this year and boasts a .439 on base percentage thanks in part to 23 walks. 

                On the mound, Mississippi State sports a 2.85 ERA while striking out 230 and walking 97 in 240 innings.  Opposing teams are having some success against them, hitting .246, and if the Hogs can keep from striking out so much they could score some runs on them.  This Bulldog defense has committed only 17 errors for a .984 fielding percentage.  However, they have been costly errors, resulting in 15 unearned runs. 

               

                MSU will throw a sophomore on Friday in right hander Preston Brown (3-0, 1.12).  Brown leads the team in ERA and has given up 24 hits and 12 walks while striking out 25 over 4 starts.  Junior Ross Mitchell (4-1, 1.66) will get the ball Saturday for just his 3^rd start in 10 appearances.  The lefty has thrown a team leading 43.1 innings, giving up 31 hits, 13 walks, and hitting 4 batters while striking out 25.  Sunday we will see junior Trevor Fitts (2-1, 3.13) toe the bump.  He has started 6 games this year, allowing 33 hits, 11 earned runs and 6 walks in 31.2 innings.  Batters are hitting .262 against him but he has struck out 37 to help get out of jams. 

                The Bulldog bullpen features senior righty Ben Bracewell (2-2, 2.35) who was a starter earlier this season and leads the pen in innings (23).  Junior LHP Jacob Lindgren (2-0, 1.17) has been the most efficient out of the pen, allowing just 2 earned runs on 9 hits and 6 walks while striking out 29 over 15.1 innings and 9 appearances.  Batters are only hitting .167 against him.  Jonathan Holder (2-1, 2.87) is a junior RHP who also has a high strikeout total, fanning 20 batters in just 15.2 innings and walking only 6. 

                Mississippi State has been a fickle team to start the season, losing seemingly easy non conference games, but have since turned in on in league play.  Knocking off Vanderbilt is no easy task in any ball park, and they also swept a double header in Athens after losing the first game of the series to Georgia.  The offensive and defensive numbers don’t wow you on paper but this is a scrappy team who knows how to put a streak of wins together.  That is what got them into the final two teams last year and they have returned a lot of experience from that team.  Pitching and defense have become the name of this college game and the Bulldogs are doing both of those pretty well right now.  They are a very similar team to Arkansas in that they don’t hit a ton but have the ability to pitch lights out on any given night.  The Hogs will need to bring bats they have not had all season in order to beat this team as nothing will be handed to them.